Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
by amy22
Summary: 5th year fic, revised version of my previous one. 9th Chapter up. Please Read and Review. And ok, I know the real one is out, but I swear I haven't read it yet, and ppl have told me to keep writing this one, so I am. And I will keep it original.
1. Default Chapter

*I disliked where the story was heading, so I changed it a little and now the plot line is different.*  
  
Harry stared thoughtfully out the window of the Hogwarts Express. He was on his way back to Hogwarts for his 5th year, and he felt a little nervous every time he thought about it, due to events that had happened the previous year. Ron was muttering something under his breath - probably about Hermione, who was reading a huge book and shooting dark glances at Ron. They had been arguing over when they should start studying for the OWLS.  
  
"Well, well, what do we have hear?" sneered a voice they knew only too well. Harry didn't even bother looking around. "Shut up, Malfoy" he said with a sigh. "I see you're still hanging around with a mudblood and a muggle lover?" said Malfoy. Ron clenched his fists, and Hermione clutched the back of his robes. "You'll just get yourself in trouble, Ron!" she cried shrilly. Malfoy laughed and imitated her, saying in a high squeaky voice "Careful Weasly!! You might get yourself hurt. Seeing as you are a mudblood lover, you don't know how to do a simple summoning charm, and can't even defend yourself."  
  
Harry spun around, furious. Malfoy smirked. "Oh, I forgot, your dear mother was a mudblood wasn't she?" Harry eyed Malfoy, then decided to tell Malfoy a few things. "At least my mother showed some magical talent, unlike a certain Tom Marvolo Riddles father," he snapped back.  
  
Hermione's left Ron's robes, she watched Malfoy intently. Ron was, muttering darkly under his breath. "Let Harry handle this one," said Hermione, she looked rather smug. Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "Who the heck is Tom Marvolo Riddle?" he asked. Harry grinned. "Oh, don't you know" he said. "He's changed his name. To Voldemort. Anyway, his mother, the heir of Slytherin, no less, married a muggle. How do you feel about that?" Malfoy sputtered.  
  
"And that he was defeated by a muggle 14 years ago?" Harry continued mercilessly. "What is that meant to mean?" asked Malfoy, narrowing his eyes. "That you are a muggle, Potter?" He laughed. "No, just that it was my mother who technically got rid of him." "Potter, he killed your mother," Malfoy sneered. He was about to say more, but Harry interrupted. "Maybe so, but the countercurse she left behind was powerful enough to throw his curse back at him."  
  
Malfoy laughed. "Potter, there is no countercurse to Avada Kedavra. I knew you were dumb, but not that dumb!" Harry smiled politely. "In actual fact, there is. It's the most powerful countercurse in the world. And if you don't know what it is, I'm not going to tell you."  
  
And with that, Harry stood up and slammed the sliding door shut in Malfoys face. Hermione let out a long breath. "Harry, how do you know all that stuff?" Harry shrugged. "Dumbledore and the memory of Tom Riddle told me," he said. Ron grinned. "Did you see Malfoys face when you told him that the heir of Slytherin married a muggle? It was..amazing!! He would have never dreamed that a descendant of Slytherin himself would marry a muggle, when all Slytherins hate them so much!"  
  
"Yes, well," said Hermione. "At least Harry's way of warring with words is better than punching Malfoy, like you would've, Ron, and getting yourself expelled!" Ron glared. "I would not have gotten expelled!! And anyway," Hermione cut him off. "You would so have gotten expelled. Either that or Malfoy would have killed you!" Ron was boiling. "There's no way that git could do Avada Kedavra!!" he yelled, adding "Sorry, Harry," as an afterthought. Harry smiled thinly. He was doing his best to put what had happened last year behind him, but it was difficult. "It's ok. And Ron's right, Hermione, even though Malfoy is evil and everything, he can't even transfigure a match into a pin!! He couldn't kill us, though he could probably do some damage." Hermione scowled. "I don't care. Just be quiet, I'm trying to read our new spell books."  
  
Ron began to say something, but Harry cut him off pointedly with "Ron, just be quiet, would you? I'm positive Hermione is perfectly capable of performing Avada Kedavra if she tries." Ron's ears went red and he turned his attention to a half-empty packet of Bertie Botts every Flavour Beans. Just as he finished the last one, they pulled into Hogsmeade station.  
  
********************************************************************* The three of them sat down in the Great Hall. Dumbledore was sitting in his usual spot, looking more thoughtful and serious than normal. Harry began to wonder what news Dumbledore had on Voldemort, but his thoughts were interrupted by Hermione. "Who's our new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher this year?" she asked. Harry scanned the top table thoughtfully, taking no notice of the fact that the Sorting ceremony had begun. "Dunno," he said. "There's no teacher up there, just an empty chair." Hermione absentmindedly said exactly the same words she had said one year ago. "I hope that we are getting one, it's one of the most important subjects!" Ron groaned. "I don't really care, Hermione, at the moment I just wish they would hurry up with the sorting so I can eat!!" Hermione frowned at him. "Ron, there are a lot of things more important than eating."she began, but was cut off as Dumbledore began his beginning of year speech.  
  
"Welcome back everyone!! I hope that you are all nice and ready for another year of learning useful and not so useful things. Now, owing to the circumstances security has been tightened, and there will be less Hogsmeade outings. Also Filch has been checking the castle for more secret tunnels and the like in and out of the castle so that they can be blocked." For some reason, Fred and George were not looking very happy. Harry snorted with laughter, remembering that the twins often used the tunnels and would not be very happy if their main way of getting around the place was blocked.  
  
Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling now; he was looking at the twins. "I would also like to tell you that the list of forbidden object has been extended to include Canary Creams and Fake Wands, the creation of two very, err, promising Hogwarts students." This was too much for Harry and he burst out laughing, along with a few other people that knew who Dumbledore was talking about. Dumbledore continued with his speech, it seemed to be longer than normal. "And finally, just a reminder that the Forbidden Forest is what its name suggests and under no circumstances are any of you allowed to go in there. And that reminds me, our Defence against the Dark Arts teacher will be arriving tomorrow morning early ready to prepare for their classes. Now, I think you'd all better be off to bed, you have a long day ahead of you yet!"  
  
The three of them hurried up to the portrait of the fat lady. "Canary Creams," said Hermione importantly. "I've been made a prefect," she explained. Ron rolled his eyes. "Now why doesn't that come as a surprise? He asked. Hermione looked as though she was about to start arguing when Harry grabbed hold of the back of Ron's robes and began dragging him towards the boy's dormitory. "Goodnight, Hermione," he said pointedly.  
  
They got their timetables the next morning at breakfast. Ron took one look at his and groaned. "Double Potions with the Slytherins, then Divination!! What a," here he caught Hermione's eye and didn't finish the sentence. "How many times do I have to tell you that you should drop Divination - that old bat hasn't a clue what she is talking about - and take something worthwhile like Arithmancy?" Ron scowled. "Because Divination is easier!!" And with that, he stood up, muttered "Come on, Harry!! We don't want to be late to Potions with that evil git!" Harry and Hermione stood up and followed Ron down to the dungeons, Harry with a feeling of dread growing deep  
The Slytherins smirked in Harry's direction as they walked in. Professor Snape was already there. His eyes glinted dangerously in their direction. "Now, let's see. 5 points off Gryfindor for being late!" "We weren't late!" Ron exclaimed angrily. Hermione muttered something to him which sounded extraordinarily like 'Shut up, Ron!" and pulled him down into his seat. Snape glared, and removed another 10 points of Gryffindor. "This year we are going to be learning about various Dark Potions and their antidotes," Snape began. "And I mean Dark Potions, ones that do not wear off, not things like Polyjuice Potion and silly things like that. So, does anyone one here know about any dark potions?"  
  
Harry automatically looked at the Slytherin side of the room, but they all looked like they were racking their brains to think of anything. Even Hermione looked a little flustered, frowning and muttering to herself. "Anyone?" asked Snape, smiling twistedly. "Not even the know-it-all of the class?" At this both Harry and Hermione's hands shot into the air, although Harry wasn't too enthusiastic about this. Just thinking of it brought back some memories he'd rather not remember.  
  
"Miss Granger?" Asked Snape. "Well, sir, I remember you telling us about the Potion of Living Death in our first year, and I think that it would be a dark potion." Snape glared. "Yes, it is. Potter?" Harry gulped. He was remembering what happened that night, the night of the third task of the Triwizard Tournament... "Errr, I'm not sure what it is called, sir, but it might be Bone Flesh Blood?" The whole room turned to stare at him. "What on earth is that, Potter?" asked Snape. "Dumbledore knows..." Harry trailed off, not caring to explain. "Potter, if you want to answer the question, you will answer it properly," Snape hissed.  
  
Harry glared back at him. "I never thought I'd find a potion you didn't know of, Professor!" Snape's eyes narrowed menacingly. "Potter, just tell me what the damn potion is!" The whole room was staring at the two of them. Harry shrugged. "Like I said, it is a dark potion. I don't know much about it myself." "What do you know about this potion, Potter?" Snape said. Harry looked around the room wildly. Malfoy was whispering something to Crabbe, looking very pleased with himself. That did it. Harry took a deep breath, and began to talk. "Well, professor, it is a potion that uses bone, flesh and blood to restore one's body. Errr, it has a kind of incantation or something that goes with it" Snape cut him off. "That will do. Now, to continue with the lesson. This year you take your owls, and I expect more of you than that to know of Dark Potions and their remedies, or all of you will fail. Miserably. So if you want to prove that you aren't all a bunch of dunderheads, like 99 percent of the population, get to work."  
  
Ron eyed Harry as they went into Divination. "So, Harry, what was that potion you were going on about in Potions?" "It's the one that Voldemort used last year.when, you know.." "Don't say the name! "Alright. Alright!!" Professor Trelawney glared at them "I think that you might pay a little more attention!! Now, if I can see your hands." Harry stared blankly at her. "You hands, boy!! We are doing palmistry!" Harry rolled his eyes and held out his hands. Professor Trelawney looked at them, then let out a scream. "What is it, Professor?" asked Lavender. She and Parvati were crowding around them eagerly. Harry pulled a face at Dean and Seamus, who chuckled.  
  
"Harry..lifeline.so short!" Professor Trelawney gasped. Harry stared stonily at the roof. "Harry, my poor boy, you will die so very soon." Her voice trailed off, and Harry said, just loud enough for her to hear, "Well, so long as whatever kills me hurries up, I hate it when they drag it out." That was too much for Ron, who started laughing hysterically, rolling on the floor. Professor Trelawney didn't look happy. "I think this is enough for today," she murmured. "Go, all of you.."  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione sat down in the Defence Classroom. They still didn't know who their teacher was, and worse, they had this class with Slytherins as well this year. It seemed a lot of their classes were with Slytherin, Harry wondered if Dumbledore had done that on purpose. As they sat on the edge of their chairs, waiting, in swept a tall, thin lady with long green robes. She glanced around the class, then sat down. "Good afternoon everyone. My name is Professor Figg, and I am your Defence teacher this year. This year, we are going to be learning how to protect yourselves from various dark curses. I know Professor Moody went through the unforgivables with you last year, but I am going to teach you more ways to defend yourself against them. Now, you all know what the Unforgivables are. Who can tell me how you can defend yourself against the Imperious Curse?" Nearly everyone's hands shot up. "Yes?" she said, pointing at Hermione. "You can learn how to throw the curse off," Hermione suggested tentatively.  
  
"Very good, Miss Granger, but is anyone here actually capable of throwing off the curse completely?" Harry raised his hand; he was the only one to do so. "Very good Mr Potter. Now, does anyone know how to defend themselves against Cruciatus?" A few people raised their hands this time, she pointed at Harry. "The best thing is to jump out of the way," Harry said, "and if that isn't possible, just try to bear it. Its hard but..." he trailed off, thinking of what had happened the year before, in the graveyard with Cedric.. "You have been under that curse, Mr Potter?" Professor Figg asked. "Yes ma'am, twice. I managed to avoid it the third time." Figg started piercingly at him, along with most of the class, then looked away.  
  
"Alright, then, who can tell me how to defend yourself against Avada Kedavra?" she asked. Hermione's hand shot up first. "There is no way, except not to get into a situation where that curse might be used. There is no countercurse." She said, sounding more and more like a text book. Harry's hand shot into the air. "Yes, Mr Potter?" Harry took a deep breath. "Professor, there is a way to repel or get rid of Avada Kedavra." "Mr Potter, there is not. Dumbledore himself has never been able to find a way," she said firmly. Malfoy snickered. "Professor, how else do you think I survived that damn curse?" Harry was getting a little angry. If he was the only one to survive that curse, he should know how he got away from it! "There is a way," he repeated stubbornly. "Two ways, actually."  
  
The class was silent. Figg looked rather amazed. "Well, Mr Potter, if you know, why you don't tell the rest of us." "Well, I survived as a baby because of my mother. She used the most powerful, ancient magic to save me, so powerful it could deflect the curse and make it so that Vol - sorry, You-Know-Who copped most of it, and the other way is, well, a bit hard to explain. I guess you would call it Priori Incantatem." The class was silent, and then Malfoy started to laugh. "Potter, Priori Incantatem is a weak spell. It shows what spells the wand last performed in reverse order. There is no way it could stop the killing curse." Everyone looked at Harry again, to see how he would react.  
  
"Malfoy, it works. Although you don't have to use that particular spell, I got away using Expelliarmus. That particular way won't work very often, and it won't work with Voldemort for anyone but me for, err, certain reasons." Malfoy looked as though he was going to interrupt again, but Figg cut him off. "That is enough, Mr Malfoy. Mr Potter, what is this ancient form of magic that your mother used?" Harry bit his lip. "Err, well, its kinda complicated, Professor, and also personal, the same with the whole Priori Incantatem thing. Only Dumbledore and, errr, a close friend know about how it exactly works."  
  
Figg looked as though she was going to keep questioning him, but, luckily, it was the end of class, so they could leave. Ron looked rather amazed. "Harry, how could Priori Incantatem absorb the killing curse? I mean, not even Hermione has read about that!" Hermione glared at him, and Harry laughed. "That's because it doesn't happen very often. Come on, guys, I'm starving, I hope there's something good for dinner." Hermione frowned at him. "Harry, after dinner you are coming straight to the common room to explain a few things to us."  
  
************************************************************ Please review!! I need ideas for the next chapter. Do you want me to concentrate on new powers or something to do with quidditch? 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except my imagination.  
  
The next few weeks at Hogwarts went without incident. Everyone kept pestering Harry about his Killing Curse counter curse, but he kept his mouth shut and finally threatened to hex one poor first year. Finally, the first Quidditch practice of the yea arrived. Harry walked out on to the pitch. "Where's Fred?" Katie asked. Just then, Fred walked up, looking particularly happy. He grinned at them all, and Harry felt a little nervous. What had Fred done now? "Where've you been? Katie asked crossly. Fred beamed at her. "Ahh, my dear girl! All around the corridors of Hogwarts, until I reached the Quidditch display board. There, I found an interesting piece of information - no, make that two pieces of interesting information." Alicia scowled at him. "Well, if you'd inform us lesser mortals.." "Too true!" Fred said with a loud, mock sigh. "Any7ay, the first piece of news is that George and I are co captains." Harry nearly fell out of his seat, then suppressed a groan. Fred and George? Quidditch captains? He looked around at his fellow team members. By the looks on their faces, he gathered they thought the same as him. "And the second piece of information is that this year, Hogwarts is having an interschool Quidditch team." "A what??" Harry gasped. Fred smiled condescendingly at him. "An interschool Quidditch team. Trials tomorrow. Then, tomorrow night at dinner, the team will be announced as well as their first opposition. And, as one of the captains, I am ordering the entire Gryffindor team to try out for it." "We don't have an entire team," Harry pointed our. "We don't have a keeper." "That's what you think," George said. "Fred and I held trials yesterday." He raised his voice. "You can come out now, ickle ronniekins!" And from behind a tree, came Ron, beaming and clutching a Cleansweep 7.  
  
"Ron!" Harry gasped. "Congratulations!" "Ahem," said Fred. "I would like to remind you that this is a Quidditch practice, not a congrats to the best friend that is on the team session." Ron and Harry both scowled at him, but kicked off anyway.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Harry gulped. The seekers were the last to try out. He looked around at his contenders for the spot on the team, and felt a little better. He knew that he could fly better than all three of them - only the seeker from each of the other house teams were even bothering to try. Cho was there, and Malfoy, and a third year Hufflepuff he didn't know,. Cedric's replacement.. he swallowed hard. Madam Hooch regarded them all sternly. "Now, no cheating or you automatically lose any chance of being on the team. I'm going to let out the Snitch, and I want to see your attempts to get it. Now, on my whistle, 1, 2, 3!" She blew hard on her whistle, letting out the Snitch at the same time. It hovered for a minute, and then vanished.  
  
Once they were in the air, everyone began, much to Harry's disgust, tailing him. They marked him so closely he could hardly move, let alone have any chance of seeing the Snitch. He went into a sharp dive going as fast a s he could, then pulled up and zoomed towards the other end of the pitch, making sure he was going too fast for anyone to catch up. Then he saw it - the snitch- hovering next to Madam Hooch. He wheeled his broomstick the opposite direction tother, and then, when everyone had turned that way, went sharply the other way angina, catching the Snitch in seconds. Madam Hooch's whistle sounded, and they drifted to the ground. She smiled at them all. "Very nice flying, all of you. I will inform Dumbledore of my choice straight away."  
  
Rona and Hermione were waiting for Harry in the Gryffindor common room. "Harry!" exclaimed Ron. "Howdya go?" Harry smiled. "I caught the Snitch. It took ages, all three of the other Seekers were tagging me." Hermione beamed. "You're sure to get on the team! You caught the Snitch!" Harry nodded, but that didn't stop him feeling like he had just swallowed a bucket of worms that suffered from hyperactivity. What if they thought that he wasn't such a good flyer and put someone else on? What if they picked Malfoy???!  
  
Finally, Dumbledore stood up. Dead silence. He smiled at them all. "I am very proud to announce that the new Hogwarts Quidditch team is: playing Chaser; Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell and Alicia (can't remember the surname)! The Beaters are Fred and George Weasly! Our Keeper is Roger Davies! And finally, our Seeker, Harry Potter!" All the tables cheered, but the cheering was about 10 times louder at the Gryffindor table. "Nearly the whole team are Gryffindors!" Neville exclaimed delightedly. Ron smiled unsteadily at Harry. "Congratulations," he said. Hermione looked anxiously between the two of them. "You aren't going to fight, are you?" she asked. Ron shook his head. "Its nothing. Not that I really wanted to be on the team any way." his voice trailed off uncertainly and Harry winced. He knew very well that Ron wanted to be on the team more than anything, and he was feeling a little left out. After all, Harry was famous, and Hermione was a genius, so he had reason to feel like that.  
  
"Well done, all of you!" Dumbledore said. "Now, you will be playing against your first opponents, Durmstrang, in January. I am not totally sure of the players names, but I do know that their captain and Seeker Viktor Krum will be sending me the list to give to our Hogwarts team in a few days." A disbelieving murmur ran through the great Hall. Harry's stomach lurched unpleasantly. Krum. An international Quidditch star. And he, Harry, would be playing against him. Fred and George turned to eye Harry. He stood up. "Ron, Hermione, are you guys coming back up to the common room?" They both nodded.  
  
As they walked across the Hall, Harry said "Wouldn't Krum have left school?" Hermione shook her head. "Oh no. He missed out on so much that he had to stay on for another year. He told me when I visited him in the holidays." Ron scowled. "You visited Vicky?" "Don't call him that!" Hermione hissed. "My parents came too; we were on a trip of southern Europe! I only saw him twice. "Harry rolled his eyes, and was about to head up the marble staircase when he heard someone call his name.  
  
"Potter!" He wheeled around. Figg was there, a most disapproving look on her face. "Dumbledore wants you to go to his office. Urgent." "Yes Professor." He turned to Ron and Hermione. "I'll see you guys in the common room." They nodded, and Harry changed direction, heading for the statue of the griffin. When he got there, he realised that he didn't know the password. "Err, Chocolate Frogs?" he tried. "Canary Creams, no, he wouldn't know about those." his voice trailed off as the griffin sprang aside revealing the spiral staircase. "Correction. Dumbledore likes Canary Creams. Wait till I tell Fred and George."  
  
Dumbledore wasn't there. Harry sat down nervously, wondering what he wanted. He hadn't broken any rules, no dreams, no Death Eaters had attacked him..Just then he noticed a piece of parchment lying on the desk. It had his name written on the front. He hesitated, then picked it up. It had his name on it after all. Slowly he unfolded the parchment, revealing a short note written in a narrow, sloping hand.  
  
Harry, I want you to search for a Ministry law that will enable us to get Sirius a trial. I cannot attend to this myself as I have Order business. The books you will need are in the bookcase in my office. Good Luck! Professor Dumbledore  
  
Harry stared, wondering what on earth Order business was. Glancing around the office, he noticed a large bookcase filled with numerous books. It took several minutes of searching to find what he was looking for. A set of books, twelve to be precise, all titled Ministry Laws, Volume 1, 2, 3 and so on. Deciding immediately in would be pointless to try and carry the books - they were all large - he waved his wand, muttering "Wingardium Leviosa!"  
  
Ron stared as Harry walked into the common room, floating a dozen large books in front of him. "Err, Harry? You all right? I mean, you'd expect this from Hermione - Ouch!" Hermione had just whacked him over the head with her Ancient Runes book, and it was fairly heavy, but she to was looking at Harry with interest. Harry grinned. "I'm searching all these books to find a way to get Sirius a trial. Want to help?" "Of course we will!" Hermione said at once. She looked positively delighted at the prospect of reading all those books. Ron eyed the pile apprehensively, but he too nodded.  
  
AN Sorry I haven't updated, I've been really busy - school holidays, then camp. Not only that, I write everything on loose paper. Please Review! Or I might not continue. I want your ideas on what you think should happen. 


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Hello again!! Gosh I got this chapter up quick. Anyway, just like to say that in my last chapter I wrote Sirius on the note. IT was meant to be Snuffles. Please take note of this!!! (and review. Or else. I will do something so horrible I don't even want to think about it.)  
  
Ron, Harry and Hermione burst into the Defence classroom, panting. "Sorry we're late," Harry gasped. "I have a note here from Dumbledore." He passed over the note Dumbledore had left for him with some trepidation. After all, it hadn't said that Ron and Hermione were meant to help him. Figg looked up with a frown. "Who is Snuffles?" she asked coldly. They glanced at each other. Harry spoke first. "It's a, err, a, a codename. Umm, classified information." "Sit down," she said icily. "Now, over the next few lessons we will first be learning about the rise and fall of various Dark Lords over the centuries. Then we will be learning a little more about Dark Creatures and how to defend yourselves against them. Any questions?"  
  
Deans hand went up. "Mr Thomas." "Were there any dark wizards not in Slytherin?" he asked. The Slytherins scowled at him. Harry put his own hand up tentatively. "Potter." "There has been dark wizards from houses other than Slytherin," he began cautiously. "I know of one myself who came from Gryffindor." Seamus Finnigan fell off his chair in disbelief. Several people's mouths were hanging open. "Who came from where?" he said. "Gryffindor," Harry repeated. "He was - is - a Death Eater," he added helpfully. No response. "He's presumed dead by most of the wizarding world." Still nothing. "His name was." "We have no reason to know his name," Figg cut in. "Now, if we could get back to the lesson. Who can tell me the most famous dark wizards of thi century?" Predictably, Hermiones hand was first up and waving around most vigorously.  
  
"Miss Granger." "The most commonly known dark wizards of this century were Grindelwald, defeated by Professor Dumbledore in 1945, coincidentally the same year the Muggle world war ended, and You-Know-Who." "Correct. Now - oh, what is it this time, Potter?" she snapped. "No I don't know who!" Harry said crossly. "Huh?" "All this You-Know-Who business! This is what Voldemort wants - a whole world full of people too scared to say some silly nickname he made up for himself. I mean, Dumbledore's the only one he's scared of, and Dumbledore says his name all the time. It's ridiculous1 Its-"" Figg cut him off again. She was furious. "Harry Potter. That. Will. Do!!" Harry glared furiously at her for a few minutes, then relaxed a little, breathing heavily. "Now, to get on with the LESSON. We will be discussing Dumbledores defeat of Grindelwald, and how he so cleverly turned him into a needle which was then hidden in some secret spot."  
  
Harry marched out to Care of Magical Creatures scowling. "That Figg woman, she has something against me, I swear it. Shes nearly as bad as Snape, honestly." "Don't be ridiculous," Hermione said. "Noone could be as bad as Snape." She looked around nervously. "I wonder what deadly dangerous thing Hagrids got for us this time.." Her voice trailed off as Hagrid walked into view carrying a large red and gold bird on his shoulder. "That's a phoenix!" she gasped in awe. "Amazing, Granger. You actually know what something is," came a cold, drawling voice. "Fawkes?" Harry said in amazement. The bird trilled and took off in a flurry of red and gold, coming to land heavily on Harry's shoulder. Hagrid smiled at him. "Yes, Harry 'ere was right. This eres a Phoenix. Great birds. Now, I want ye tuh write 'n essay on Phoenix's. righ' now, 'ere in class. I can't do much, I got stuff tuh do, I do. Harry? Do you wan' to keep Fawkes or?" "I'll keep him here," Harry said quickly. He sat down on the grass - a little awkwardly because of Fawkes, and pulled his bag towards him. From it he got one of the Ministry laws books, and began to read. Ron was doodling pictures, prodding them with his wand to make them move, and Hermione had several text books open writing at an amazing pace. About halfway through the lesson, Harry gave a start. "I've got it!" he whispered hoarsly.  
  
"Got what?" Ron said. "Found a way to get Snuffles a trial!! Listen to this. Innocent until proven guilty; This law was established in 1607 to prevent innocent people from being sent to Azkaban. The law requires that all people accused of committing an Azkaban crime be granted a trial, just in case they are innocent. If this rule is broken, and it is proved, the party who is directly affected are entitled to one million galleons for every year of wrongful imprisonment. All those indirectly affected are intitled to half a million galleons for every year. And the trial requires the use of Veritaserum!" He leapt to his feet, knocking Fawkes off his shoulder. Fawkes trilled indignantly. "Sorry, Fawkes! I have to go!" And with that Harry sprinted off, leaving a rather dumbstruck Hagrid behind him and a very excited Ron and Hermione.  
  
Harry stopped outside Dumbledores office, breathing hard. It had been a long sprint up several flights of stairs from Hagrids hut, and he was more than a bit out of breath. When he had recovered, he said what had been the password only the day before. "Canary Creams." Nothing happened. Harry stared at the griffin in disgust. Dumbledore had changed the password again!! "Err, Chocolate Frogs?" Still nothing. HE was about to try again, when he heard Dumbledore's voice from around the corner. "Why don't we discuss this in my office, Cornelius?" he said. The two of them walked round the corner, and Harry found himself face to face with the minister of magic.  
  
"Harry!" Fudge said nervously. "Shouldn't you be in class?" Harry nodded. "Yes, but.." he turned to Dumbledore. "Professor, I found what you wanted me too.." Dumbledore looked delighted. "Marvelous!! Now we can kill two birds with one stone. Harry, you come right up to my office with Cornelius and I, we have a lot to discuss.  
  
AN. Well, that's the end of the latest chapter. What I said at the beginning still stands. If you tell me your username in your review, I'll read yours and review them as well. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	4. Chapter 4

The three of them sat down, Harry glancing over at Fudge. Fudge was very stubborn, and was sure that Harry was crazy after reading several articles by Rita Skeeter the year before. He was also adamant that Voldemort had not returned. "Now," Dumbledore said. "Harry here has been busily researching Ministry laws." Fudge glanced at Harry suspiciously. "Harry, if you'd tell him what you found." Harry nodded. "Minister, sir, have you ever hear of the law 'Innocent until proven Guilty'?" Fudge jumped, and licked his lips. "Err, no, I can't say I have," he said.  
  
"Well, it was established in 1607 to prevent innocent people from being sent to Azkaban. If that law is broken the person directly affected is entitled to one million galleons for every year of wrongful imprisonment, and all those indirectly effected are entitled to half a million galleons for every year the innocent party is imprisoned."  
  
Fudge glanced at Dumbledore. "Albus, what is this lunatic child going on about?" Harry lost his temper. He stood up. "I'm demanding a trial for Sirius Black, that's what!" Fudge's reaction was exactly what Harry had expected. He jumped, and began to stutter. "P-p-p-preposterous! He was the Potters Secret Keeper, we know he was guilty, we heard what those Muggles saw-" "Prove it," Harry said softly. "You never gave him a trial. No one knew about the switch, that was his plan. And you don't have a choice about giving him a trial, if I demand one on that basis. You can't do anything. Sirius has to have a trial - with Veritaserum. And if you 'forget' that I demanded this, I will personally contact the Daily Prophet and get the full story in there. You can be sure that you will lose your spot as Minister. And when Sirius is proven innocent." "IF he is proven innocent," Fudge said heatedly. "He will want the compensation," Harry said. Fudge went pale. "B-b-but that would be 12 million galleons!" "24," Harry said. "Professor Lupin and I will both want compensating as well." He paused, glancing at Dumbledore, who seemed to be enjoying all this a lot. "That money, by the law, comes out of the Ministry. I don't think any of them are going to be very happy.." Dumbledore stood up. "Harry, you'd best be off. Cornelius and I have to discuss what to do now Voldemort is back." Harry nodded.  
  
"Harry," Hermione said nervously at breakfast the next day. "Did you know that we are learning about the Fidelius Charm in Charms today?" Harry shook his head slowly. "No. At least I can do a good impersonation of you..It's a charm I know a lot about." He swallowed hard, then glanced up automatically as the owls flew in with the post. Hedwig was not among them. "You ok?" Ron asked anxiously. Harry nodded. "Yeah, just have bad memories involving owls. You know, that dream I had last year in Divination." Hermione tutted. "You really should quit, Trelawneys nothing but a fraud." She glanced at her watch. "Heck!" Ron and Harry stared. Hermione never never said anything like that in anger. "Err, is everything ok?" Harry asked. "We're meant to be in Potions in 5 minutes!" Ron said something that would normally have caused Hermione to lecture him, but this time she let him off. They leapt up and sprinted across the Hall, arriving at the Potions dungeon at the same time as Snape. He glared at them, but said nothing, so they hastily sat down.  
  
"Today we will be making a potion designed to give the drinker flu-like symptoms," he hissed. "At the end of the lesson you will have to drink your potion...If you have made it correctly I should be able to reverse it with the antidote, if you haven't, you will have a bad dose of the flu."  
  
Harry groaned, and set up his cauldron before looking through the recipe. He was halfway through grinding Unicorn horn when the door opened and Professor Lupin walked in. Harry nearly knocked his Troll Boogers off the table in shock. He caught it just in time, staring at Lupin open mouthed.  
  
Lupin smiled at him, before turning to Snape. "Severus, I am afraid that Harry must leave this class now." Snape glared stonily at them both. "Harry has an hour left. He will stay here for that hour." "Severus, Harry has to go the Ministry. His presence is required at a trial. The trial of an acquaintance of his from two years ago.." Snape's eyes narrowed. "I was under the impression that his.. Acquaintance. had already been convicted." Lupin shrugged. "A lot of people were under that impression. But taking things into consideration, we are acting under an old law. Come on Harry, we're already late."  
  
Harry stuffed his stuff into his bag. "Can you take care of it?" he muttered to Ron. Ron nodded. "See ya Harry. Good luck." Harry nodded, and scampered after Lupin. "Professor, where's Snuffles?" Lupin smiled. "Firstly, Harry, I am no longer your Professor, so don't call me that. Lets see, James would have a fit if you called me Mr Lupin, so just call me Remus, or Moony. And Snuffles is waiting for us in Dumbledore's office. He will travel with us to the Ministry for his trial." He paused in front of the familiar griffin. "Freddo Frogs!" The griffin leapt aside, revealing the familiar moving spiral staircase. 


	5. Chapter 5

"Harry!" Sirius said. He crossed the room and hugged him. "Seeker on the Hogwarts team, eh? Playing against Viktor Krum in January?" Harry nodded. Sirius beamed. Dumbledore chuckled. "As exciting as that is, Sirius, we are on our way to a trial. We will travel there by Floo Powder. The address is Room 187, English Ministry of Magic, WWW." "WWW?" Harry repeated, puzzled. "Whats that mean?" Dumbledores eyes twinkled. "Ahhh, I forget you don't know these things, Harry. All Ministry Floo fireplaces have passwords. I suggested this one - WWW stands for Weazly's Wizard Wheezes." Harry laughed, and Dumbledore smiled. "I think that's all the explaining we have time for. Now, Remus and I will go first. Harry, you and Sirius follow.  
  
As Sirius and Harry entered the room, several people gasped. After all, it wasn't every day you saw the Boy-Who-Lived fraternising with the man believed to be Voldemort's right hand man, Sirius Black. Ministry officials hastily conducted Harry to a witnesses seat and Sirius to the defendants. Once everyone was seated and ready, an important looking official in black and gold began. "You are all here to witness the 'Innocent until Proven Guilty' trial of Mr Sirius Black, called into effect by Mr Harry Potter."  
  
At the mention of Harry's name, the entire room turned to stare. "Mr Potter, do you wish to continue?" Harry nodded firmly, his gaze fixed on Fudge, who was sweating nervously. "We then call on Sirius Black to speak." Sirius rose. His eyes still had the hollow look of Azkaban. "In a way," he began, "I am partly responsible for the deaths of Lily and James." A disbelieving murmur ran around the room.  
  
"I - I was the one who persuaded them to change Secret-Keepers at the last minute. I thought it would be the perfect bluff - Voldemort would be certain they'd use me, and if he caught me and used a Truth Potion, and they'd used Peter, he'd never find them. He'd never dream they'd use a weak, talentless wizard like Peter. James thought it was the perfect bluff also - Lily took more persuading. She'd never really liked Peter. But in the end they switched. On the night they died, I, I went to check Peter. Make sure he was still safe. I got to his hideout and he was gone. I raced to the Hollow. I found Lil and James dead." His voice cracked, and he paused for a moment. "Harry was still in Lily's arms. I was climbing over the rubble, trying to get to them, when Hagrid arrived. I let him take Harry, and went after Peter. Peter blew the street apart and transformed." "Transformed?" the Black-and-Gold man said. Sirius nodded.  
  
"Transformed. He was an illegal animagus. We all were. Me, James, and Peter. We did it so we could accompany Remus during his transformations. You know, his lycanthropy."  
  
"How did you escape?" Black-and-Gold man asked.  
  
"I knew I was innocent. It wasn't a happy thought so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me. It kept me sane- allowed me to keep my powers. When everything got too bad, I could transform into my animagus form. Dementors can't sense animal emotions. Then, I saw Peter in the paper. He'd been posing as a pet rat. It said the children were at Hogwarts - I knew Harry'd be there by now. I had to stop Peter from harming Harry, so I crept through the bars and headed for Hogwarts.." His voice trailed off. Remembering Azkaban was obviously none too pleasant.  
  
"Mr Harry Potter, do you have anything to add?" Black-and-Gold man said. Harry stood up. "Well, if you don't find Sirius innocent this time, I'll drag Veritaserum into the appeal.. Then you won't have a choice. I'll make it myself if I have to, or buy it. I'll face every Dementor in Azkaban to get Sirius free. Can you imagin going over your best friends death for 12 years and knowing that you could have prevented it? I'll do anything to keep Sirius out of there. I'll - I'll" Harry was running out of things to do. "I'll find Peter and drag him in here even if it means kidnapping him from under Voldemorts nose!" He finished his tirade with a stamp of his foot. Sheets of paper blew into the air and ink bottles exploded. Harry sat down slowly, shaking a little. He hadn't been expecting to perform accidental magic again.  
  
Most people were staring at him. He looked at the roof crossly. Dumbledore flicked his wand and the mess vanished. Black and Gold man stood up hastily. "Err, would the jury please leave the room to make their decision." The jury rose and filed out. They returned in a matter of minutes, passing a slip of paper to Black-and-Gold man. Harry held is breath. "Ahem. I would like to announce that Sirius Black has been found"...Dead silence.  
  
"Not Guilty!" Harry sat frozen, a smile spreading across his face. Then he leapt at Sirius, sending tables and chairs flying. "We did it, Snuffles!" he yelled. "Ahem," Black-and-Gold man said again. "We would now like to present Mr Black with his personal belongings, his Gringotts key and his wand." He flicked his wand and a box appeared in front of Sirius filled with papers. On top was a large silver key and a wand. Sirius snatched the wand up, stuffing it into his pocket. "His 12 million galleons will be deposited in his account shortly." The official said. Harry sneaked a look at Fudge. He was now green, and shaking. "Finally, we would like to return custody of his godson, Mr Harry Potter, in accordance with the late Mr and Mrs Potters wishes. Now, Mr Black, is there any close family members or friends who are entitle to compensation?"  
  
Sirius nodded. "Remus and Harry both deserve it." The official nodded. "That will be taken care of."  
  
Harry and Sirius made their way over to Remus, who was practically dancing with delight. "Finally, Padfoot! Now I don't have anything to worry about. Well, almost nothing." He glanced at Harry, who scowled, then decided a subject change was in order. "So, Sirius, are we gonna go back to Hogwarts and scare everyone?" Sirius shook his head. "No way! You, me and Remus are going to go and have dinner in the Leaky Cauldron so I can catch up on what you have been doing in your life that I have missed. Now, lets go!" 


	6. chapter 6

Harry eyed Sirius and Remus' outfits curiously. They were both wearing blue robes with gold embroidery and a small red phoenix embroidered on the left side of their chest. "Why are you wearing that?" he asked. Sirius grinned. "Why are you wearing that?" he asked, pointing at Harry's Hogwarts robes. "Because Remus here came and dragged me out of class. It's the Hogwarts uniform, Sirius" "Yes, well, this is the uniform for-" "Sirius!" Remus said warningly. "For what?" Harry asked curiously. "Nevermind," Sirius said. "Fine then. I'll find out myself. Better still, I'll ask Hermione." Remus chuckled. "For some reason, Harry, I doubt Hermione would bel able to find anything about this in books." Books.. Harry's mind sprang to the note Dumbledore had written him. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Dumbledore's mysterious Order business, would it?" Sirius beamed. "Ahh, he's sharp, eh, Moony." Remus nodded. "You got it, kiddo. These are our Order uniforms" He reached into the cupboard and pulled out two midnight blue cloaks with hoods. "Here, Padfoot. Now noone will start throwing hexes around before Harry can wave that bit of parchment under their noses." The two of them pulled their hoods up, and led the way to the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
There were no other customers in there. Old Tom glanced up and a toothy smile spread across his face. "Mr Potter!! How nice to see you again. And your two friends.." He glanced at them. No one bothered to enlighten him. "A private parlour, please," Harry said. "And a pot of tea, crumpets, sausages, a chocolate cake and perhaps some sandwiches." Tom nodded, and led the way to their parlour. With a flick of his wand, the fire was flickering away merrily, with another, their order was on the table. He bowed and left, closing the door behind him. Remus and Sirius pulled down their hoods, Sirius reaching for a slice of cake. Remus frowned at him. "Really, Padfoot, you get to spend some quality time with your godson for the first time in fourteen years and the first thing you do is stuff your face?" Sirius swallowed with some difficulty. "Want anything Harry?" he asked. Harry nodded. "Yes. A cup of tea would be nice, thank you." Sirius started to laugh, and Remus shook his head while pouring out three cups of tea. "Now you can talk to us properly!" he declared, sliding Harry's cup across the table. Harry took a sip, thoughtfully. "This Order," he said suddenly, "What does it do?" Remus and Sirius glanced at each other. Sirius turned back to Harry with a sigh. "Harry, the Order Of the Phoenix was first established when Voldemort first came to power. Its purpose was to aid Aurors in any way it could, but within Hogwarts. IN reality, Aurors of a higher standard. Of course, it was no longer needed after - then - so it was closed down. But in light of recent events, Dumbledore has seen fit to reinstate the Order - without consulting the Ministry." "So its just for fighting Death Eaters?" Harry said slowing. Sirius nodded. "For the most part, yes. I know you won't like this, Harry, but another of the Orders purposes is to take care of you." Harry's face darkened. "I'm not a baby," he said crossly. "I can take care of myself." Remus nodded. "We know, Harry, we know, but Voldemort is targeting you. Even a cat runs out of lives, and you have lived twice when you should have died. And if you were to die, Harry..." His voice trailed off, and his eyes filled with tears. "Sorry," Harry muttered, staring into the firs. Suddenly he looked up. "Sirius?" he asked. Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Was anything salvaged from my mum and das house? " Remus shooks his head, but Sirius looked positively joyous. "Harry! I can't believe I forgot!! James mentioned something about putting stuff they wanted kept safe in their Gringotts account - have you ever searched it thoroughly?" Harry shook his head. Sirius smiled. "Harry, this Christmas you and I - and Remus if he wants - are going to search that vault of yours from top to bottom!"  
  
They were all silent for a few moments. "Remus?" Harry asked. "What now?" Remus pretended to grump. Harry grinned. "You said before that I had escaped from Voldemort twice - you're wrong." "I am?" Remus asked, puzzled. "You mean that you died the first time or what?" Harry shook his head. "Idiot!! You forgot you didn't know me before my 3rd year - I met him and got away in my 1st year and 2nd." "You did?" Sirius gasped. Harry pulled a face. "We-ell, it was his younger self in my 2nd year - he left a diary with his memories in it. I nearly died then." Sirius glared at him. "Harry James Potter, you are not going anywhere until you tell Remus and I exactly what you were up to before we knew you!!" Harry beamed at him. "Well, there was the time I lost 150 points from Gryffindor..and the other time I won 200 and Ron won 200, and we both got awards for special services to the school or some crap - and we got it for breaking rules and at the beginning of the year Dumbledore was threatening to expel us..."  
  
Fred and George paced nervously in front of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. "Well, you guys all know what Oliver used to say. Still all applies." Fred said after a long silence. "What, get the Snitch or die trying?" Harry asked cheerfully. George snickered. "Well, maybe not all of it.but most of it!" And then they strode onto the pitch. "Here is the Gryffindor team, most members of the Hogwarts team, the reigning champions and despite a long list of misfortunes the best team Hogwarts has seen in a long while! Lee Jordan yelled.  
  
"On my whistle!" Hooch yelled. "One..Two.Three!" Harry kicked off hard, soaring up high above the game. It didn't take long for him to realise Cho wasn't playing as well as she normally did, her reactions were slow and she'd had a few close encounters with Bludgers already. Harry weaved in and out of them all easily, listening carefully to the commentary. "And Katie Bell scores - its 50-10 to Gryffindor. Gryffindor in possession, about to score - no, good save by Davies, and Ravenclaw in possession, Boot speeding towards goal, he scores - no he doesn't, stopped by a good Bludger sent by a Weasly twin, can't tell which - What the hell is Potter doing?!!?!" For Harry had just gone into a incredibly fast dive towards the teachers stands. Cho was half-heartedly following him. He pulled up seconds before collision, the golden Snitch clutched in his fist.  
  
Finally, the holidays arrived. No students but Harry were at Hogwarts, so he had the common room to himself, and Remus and Sirius, of course. It was Christmas morning, and Harry was creeping silently downstairs. Remus had just sat up, rubbing his eyes blearily. As he spotted Harry, and evil glint appeared in his eye. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he mouthed, inclining his head towards Siriw's sleeping form. Harry nodded enthusiastically. With a flick of his wand, a large bucket of icy water was revolving above Sirius's head. Harry crept up behind him and yelled, "Padfoot! Dumbledore and Trelawney just announced their engagement!" Sirius's head flew up with a start. "Wha-" he began, then Remus's bucket of water fell on his head. Harry and Remus both rolled on the floor with laughter, Siruis sat there and scowled. "Get up. There's more to do than play tricks on poor defenceless people like myself, there's presents." The two of them stood up shakily, still chortling, and made their way to the pile under the tree.  
  
AN. Ok, here is the latest chapter!! Do you want me to continue with this fic after the OotP is released? Its only five days away and there is no way I can get the rest of the story typed up and posted before then. I need five reviews saying yes before I do!! So, if you want to know what happens, click that little button.. 


	7. chapter 7

The three of them attacked their presents vigorously, Sirius helping himself to the Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans that Harry had got from Ron and Hermione respectively, it didn't seem to matter that he had also received some. Harry eagerly tore of the paper around Remus's present. "Wow!" he said. It was '1001 Seeker Tactics'. "Thanks! This will be great!! I'll learn all sorts of nice things to annoy Malfoy with!" "Hey!" Sirius said indignantly. "What about my present?"" He pointed to an oddly shaped, terribly wrapped looking parcel. Harry eyed it suspiciously, but began peeling off the layers upon layers or wrapping paper. It seemed Siruis had gone to a great deal of trouble to make sure Harry couldn't tell what it was by its shape. "Eye of Isis!" he exclaimed, as a brand new broom rolled out. It was a LightningBolt, or at least that's what it said on the handle. It had to be the best broom Harry had ever seen, it looked better than his Firedbolt. "Siruis, I didn't think there was a new broom on the market yet!" Siruis grinned. "There isn't. When one ahs 12 million galleons at ones disposal, one can normally get such things ahead of time." Harry looked awestruck. "You spent 12 million on one broom?" Remus cracked up. Siruis smiled, shaking his head sadly. "Harry, Harry, Harry. Of course not. I only spent 2 million. What I meant was, that I could afford basically anything with such a ridiculous amount of money." Harry shook his head. "You spent 2 million on me.You gotta be crazy!" Siruis beamed. "No, I just thought you deserved it. And I dislike Slytherins as much as you." Harry pulled a face. "What if I hadn't made the Hat sort me into another house?" Siruis looked thoughtful. "Err, I think I would merely remove you from Hogwarts, or demand a resorting. Harry, who is this from?" Siruis was pointing at a huge parcel Harry hadn't noticed. "I wouldn't have a clue," he said truthfully, and removed the paper. Out fell a set of Order Robes like the ones Remus and Siruis had worn after the trial. A not was attached. Harry - I thought it may be for the best if you were entered into the Order. For now, you will have to be content with just the robes. More will be revealed in due time - so don't tell him anything, Siruis. Yours sincerely, Dumbledore.  
  
Harry turned, beaming to Siruis, but he wasn't smiling. "What does he think he's doing, making you part of the Order?" he asked indignantly. "Its much too dangerous. Crazy, that man." Remus shrugged, "I don't think so, Padfoot. I think he knows exactly what he's doing - after all, it is much easier for the Order to protect Bambi if he is one of them." "BAMBI?" Harry asked. Remus chortled. "Err, that was what we called you when you were a baby, Harry. Something to do with your dad being Prongs, I suspect." Harry scowled. "Yeah, whatever. I can't say I like it that much - although it's better than some things I get called. But I would much prefer it if you called me Harry. Or I'll start calling you Professor." Remus raised his hands in horror. "Anything but that!! Please, no!" Siruis frowned at them both. "I would like to remind you that we have a whole Gringotts vault to search - and those things are huge. So if you'd both kindly grab your cloaks, well be off." Harry reached for his Order one. "No, Harry, not that. Get your Hogwarts cloak."  
  
They all stood in Harry's vault, uncertain of where to start. "Well, I guess we'll all split up." Harry said finally. The others nodded, and Harry headed towards a dark corner. There was a fresh pile of galleons there - his compensation package, he supposed. Getting down on his hand s and knees, he began to peer into small, dark places. "Harry! Sirius! Over here!" Remus yelled. He leapt up, hurrying over. Remus was dusting off two old Hogwarts trunks, each engraved with his parents names. Harry gulped. "Alohomora!" He whispered, tapping them both. The three of them eagerly peered into the first one. Harry lifted the Order robes off the top. Underneath were dozens of photo albums. He opened one. It was full of pictures of his parents in Order uniform, with their friends and people Harry recognised as Ministry officials and Hogwarts staff. A tear slid down his cheek. "Harry?" Siruis asked softly. "Do you want to look in the other trunk?" Harry nodded.  
  
Inside were a lot of old Hogwarts textbooks, essays, exam results and a small wooden box. Spellotaped to the box was a note. Sirius snatched it, ripping the note ope. 'Harry, these are the things Hagrid salvaged from Godrics Hollow.'  
  
Remus opened the lid slowly, holding his breathe. Inside were a child's teddy bear and two wands. Harry reached out, picking up one of the wands.  
  
"That's- that's James's wand." Siruis croaked. Harry carefully put it back in and closed the small box with a snap. He turned to Remus. "Can I take this back to Hogwarts?" he asked. Remus nodded. "I'll just shrink it." With a wave of his wand, the boxes were pocket sized. They solemnly filed out, the tiny trunks clutched in Harry's hand.  
  
AN. Ok, thanks for the reviews. I got 8 which was great. That's the most I've ever got at one time. This is all lucky guesses, I certainly haven't had an early look at the book. Its just stuff I thought off. I won't be rewriting the trial part, the Ministry would have been in a hurry as they didn't want Harry getting all the dirt on them out to the press. And they have magic, they can do things a lot quicker, although, you may not have noticed it yet, but Sirius's innocence has not yet been announced to the general public. Someone said that the Order of the Phoenix was copyrighted. Well, I'm not copying it, therefore I don't think it really matters. The plot is my own, I thought it up, although the characters and settings are Rowling's. I will continue this, it should be done by the end of the year or earlier. I do have most of the story written out on scrap paper, I just have to type it all up. There is a twist to the plot later on, so if you want to find out more, review.. . 


	8. Chapter 8

"Harry!" Rona and Hermione rushed up to him. "Did you have a good Christmas?" Ron asked. Harry nodded and took a seat between the two of them. "Do you know who those blokes in the funny uniform up at the high table are?" Ron asked after a few minutes of silence. Harry grinned. "You'll find out later." "So you do know?" Ron said indignantly. Harry hastily changed the subject.  
  
"Did you know the Durmstrang team are here?" Ron scowled. "When are you playing?" Hermione asked. "Tomorrow," Harry said. "So soon?" "Yeah, Dumbledore wants to get it over quickly. All the security is a big headache for him. They're not coming in here till after the match, though. I expect their busy with last minute practices and stuff." "Heaps of people are coming to watch," Ron said. "Mum and Bill and Charlie are all coming - Charlie had this mad idea about bringing the coach of the English side a long but mum wouldn't let him." Harry pulled a face. "Thank the stars! With my luck, Dementers would've turned up." Ron scowled. "Something nearly as bad as Dementors is coming." Harry grinned. "What, Percy?" Ron didn't smile. "No. Malfoy's dad and Fudge. Fudge was coming anyway, of course, it's an international event, and then Malfoy decided to come. His exact words were 'everyone's raving about Potters skills, but I won't believe it till I see it." Harry groaned. "Great. Death Eaters at the Quidditch maths. Old Moony was right, its" "Moony?" Fred said, sticking his head across the table. George looked up. "As in the Marauders Moony?" Harry nodded. "Yeah." The twins looked ecstatic. "Who is he? How do you know him?" they chorused. Harry grinned. "I know all four. But I'm not saying who they are..yet. I'll tell you at the end of the year if you can swear to secrecy and if they will let me." The twins were about to protest, when Dumbledore stood.  
  
"Welcome to the second term at Hogwarts!! As most of you are aware, the Durmstrang Quidditch team arrived last night, but are staying in their own private quarters until the match tomorrow. I think that is all..No, it isn't. As you have all probably noticed, we have two strangers in our midst. They are both here for security purposes, and because of that must remain anonymous so that their lives are not endangered. I trust you will behave yourselves around them, as they will not hesitate to hex you with some extremely unpleasant curses. Now that is all!! Sweet Dreams, everyone!"  
  
Slowly, the Hogwarts students began to file out of the great hall. "Harry!" someone whispered. Harry spun around. Remus was grinning at him from under his Order robes. "Over here!" Harry pulled at his friends sleeves and steered them into the room off the Great Hall. "Professor Lupin!" Hermione gasped. "Snuffles!" Ron appeared to be speechless. Sirius laughed. "Nice to see you to," he said. "Have you got the-"he began, but broke off abruptly when Harry fixed him with a death glare, inclining his head towards Ron and Hermione. Ron looked disgruntled. "Well, if you're gong to keep things from us, your best friends!" Hermione frowned at him. "Ron, secrets are secrets for a reason. Harry doesn't have to tell us - I'm sure you have lots of secrets. And unless you both want detentions from Snape, we should head towards the common room now." Sirius puled a face t her. "Now, Hermione, you are with to members of the Order. We are above the Professors and can escort you back to Gryffindor towe4r." Remus glared daggers at him. "Members of the Order?" Hermione repeated, intrigued. "Err, oops?" Sirius said sheepishly. "Never mind the Order," Harry said impatiently, "Theres going to be Death Eaters at the Quidditch match tomorrow." Sirius frowned. "Harry, perhaps Remus or I'd better cast a shield around you." Harry shook his head vehemently. "No way. The only way I'd catch the Snitch with a shield around me would be if it flew down my throat again. Besides, I don't think he would attack right under Dumbledore's nose." Sirius still looked unconvinced. "Aww, Padfoot, stop worrying!! You can run around under me on the pitch to catch me if I fall. Behave like Moody - Stun everyone!!1 Then there will be noone conscious to harm me." Ron laughed. Remus smiled. "Sirius, he has a point. Now let Harry go back to his common room, he has a big day tomorrow."  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Harry had Quidditch practice first thing. Davies looked extremely nervous, he was pacing up and down, talking strategy and making Harry feel sorry for the Ravenclaws - he was nearly as bad as Wood! The Gryffindors were mucking around, mostly, that was the twins way of letting off nerves. "So, Harry, how do you know those hex-happy babysitters Dumbledore's hired?" George asked. Harry smiled. "Their old friends of my dads - I've known them since I was born" "Cool!" Fred exclaimed. ":Imagine all the curses they could teach you to use on Malfoy...or Snape!" "Will you three concentrate??" Davies bellowed. The twins grinned at him while Harry flushed.  
  
Harry sprinted into his room, slightly out of breath. He'd been training on his Firebolt, trying to keep his Lightningbolt a secret, but he need a really good broom for the actual match. Carefully picking up his beloved broom, he headed down to breakfast. Everyone was in th4e Great Hall - even some parents - when Harry got there. AS couple of people glanced at him, then stared. A disbelieving muttering began to fill the room, people standing on their stools to get a better look. Harry slipped into a seat near Remus and Sirius, who still had their hoods pulled over their face. IT was then he noticed Hrs Weasly, Bill and Charlie sitting across the table. "Hello!" He said cheerfully. "Mrs Weasly, Bill, Charlie, these are the new security measures Dumbledore's hired. Sorry I can't introduce them by name, but that's not allowed. But they're both friends of mine" The three of them simply stared at Harry's broom, awestruck. Finally Charlie broke the silence. "Hell, Harry," he said weakly. "Did you know that not even the international teams have brooms like that??" Harry nodded. "It's a present from a friend of mine." He said shortly. "Are they the Hogwarts Quidditch Robes?" Bill asked curiously. Harry nodded, glancing at them. They were purple, with the Hogwarts crest on the back. "Durmstrang have red and black stripes," he said, "So it should be easy to tell us apart." He felt a tap on his shoulder. "Time for the teams to go," Davies said. Fred, George, Angelina Katie and Alicia rose and picked up their broomsticks. Then the Hogwarts team walked silently out of the hall. 


	9. chapter 9

The Hogwarts team filed onto the pitch amid loud cheers. The Durmstrang team were already there. Krum stepped forward from the group - Harry recognized a few of them as people who had been contenders for the Triwizard Tournament two years ealier - and shook hands with Davies. He then turned to Harry, scowling. Before he could say anything, Madam Hooch blew her whistle and they all kicked off. A professional commentator - someone from the Ministry of Magic - was commentating. "And its Durmstrang in possession, hit by a Bludger and Hogwarts have the Quaffle.."  
  
Harry soared high above the game, trying to keep an eye on Krum and scan the pitch at the same time. He wasn't used to having an opposition that didn't spend most of the game tagging him, and nerves were dancing the tarantella in his stomach. "And Durmstrang score the first goal of the match! Its 10-nil, in favour of Durmstrang."  
  
Harrys stomach gave an unpleasant jerk - the Durmstrang Chasers were a lot better than they had anticipated. Trying to concentrate on finding the Snitch before Krum, he glanced around the stands. His eyes focused on the Malfoys, he peered confusedly down at them. He blinked. Surely he was imagining things! Squinting, he realised that he wasn't. Panic rushed through him as he saw Malfoy seniors wand levelled right at him. He jerked his broom, trying to dart whatever unpleasant curse was sent his way, but he was too late. The all too familiar burst of pain flooded his body and dulled his senses. Only one thing remained in his mind - hang on to the broom.  
  
He was vaguely aware of screams and a whistle blast, then the curse was lifted. HE shook his head, trying to clear his mind, hardly hearing Professor McGonagalls shouts for everyone to sit down and stay calm, and to get that child out of the air. Before he had time to get more than five feet closer to the ground, a fresh curse slammed into him. The impact caused his hands to fly off his broom. There were red-hot knives carving into him, coals heaped in his stomach..Harry waved his hands around blindly, trying to grab hold of something, anything, so long as he didn't fall out of the air. As both hands grasped something, the curse was lifted once more. Harry hardly noticed he was clutching the Snitch as though his life depended on it - he was concentrating on reaching the ground. The other members of the teams were already on the pitch, pale and shaken looking.  
  
He hit the ground with a thud and struggled to his feet. Sirius had sprinted over and wrapped his arm round him. "You're gonna be ok, Harry," he said, voice cracking. Harry nodded dully. McGonagall was sending people off back up to the castle, while Dumbledore was speaking to the Ministry wizards who had been present. Harry caught a glimpse of Remus's terrified face as he hurried over, then blacked out.  
  
He came to on his back in the hospital wing - a very familiar sight. Wincing, he adjusted his glasses which everyone had forgotten to remove. "Harrys awake," he heard someone exclaim. At once Sirius bounded to his side and t ried to make him lay down again. "Stop it," Harry muttered, trying to ignore the throb in his scar. "I'm ok, allright?" "You're not!" Sirius said angrily. "Some Death Eater just went and threw the Cruciatus Curse on you, and you say you're ok. Harry, those curses were on you for at least 5 minutes! I've known people to be half mad after that long." Harry scowled. "I'm fine, stop fussing, at least my scar wasn't killing me, ok?"  
  
"If you're fine," Remus said, "Why are youre hands shaking that much?" Harry glanced down at them. Sure enough, his hands seemed to be having spasms. "Err, well." "Its side effects," Snape said brusquely. "And if you don't want the effects to be permanent, take kthis potion." He thrust a small bottle filled with a purple liquid at Harry and strode out of the room. Harry swallowed it apprehensively. "Disgusting stuff," he said, pulling a face at the bottle.  
  
"Well, Harry, that was an impressive catch," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling. Harry felt embarrassed. "It wasn't meant to be a catch, Professor. I was trying to grab hold of my broomstick." He glanced automatically around the room, looking for it. Sirius noticed him. "I've put it in a safe spot, so stop worrying," he said. "Now, if I could do the same with you." he glared at Harry. Dumbledore smiled. "And seeing as that is impossible, at least until Sirius invents a way to do it, I've pacified him with the idea of you having extra Defence lessons. Duelling, I think, would be a good skill for you to learn. Both Sirius and Professor Snape will be instructing you, for reasons known only to myself." He paused. "Yes, I think that is all. Now, youd better get some sleep, Harry Potter, if you plan on attending school at all this week."  
  
Harry was in a bad mood when he walked into breakfast the next morning. People had stared at him all the way there, and he wasn't in the mood for them to stare at him while he ate. Sure enough, as he walked into the Hall a great hush fell and people stared in his direction. Scowling, he made his way to the Gryffindor table. Ron and Hermione smiled nervously at him.  
  
"Err, you ok, mate?" Ron asked eventually. Harry nodded. Hermione began her usual spiel of worrying. "Oh Harry, you could have died, you could have gone mad, you could have" "Well I didn't!" Harry snapped irritably at her. Hermione stopped midsentence, looking hurt. Harry felt bad. "Look, I'm sorry, but I'm stressed out right now. I'm having extra Defence lessons with Snape, and hes probably gonna use them as an excuse to kill me or something, and I'm sick of people fussing over me, I'm not totally useless am I, I excaped Voldemort 4 times, I can look after myself." He would have said more, he was interrupted. "Ahem." It was Fred. "Someone to talk to you, Harry." He gestured towards Krum, who was minus his usual scowl. "Yes?" Harry said shortly. "Gut flying," Krum said. Harry's face relaxed into a slightly bitter smile.  
  
"Thanks. Sit down." He gestured vaguely at the table. Krum sat next to Hermione. Ron looked simply furious. Any other time, Harry would have laughed, but he wasn't in the mood. "It was an accident." He said. "Pardon?" Krum said. "Me catching the Snitch. I was trying to grab my broom, so I didn't fall." Krum shrugged. "Doesn't matter. It was a very good catch. How long have you been flying?" Harry helped himself to toast. "Since my first year." "Don't listen to him!" Ron interrupted. "Harry's a great player, he was the youngest on a team for over a century. Only ever lost one game, and that was an accident." "Vot happened? Krum asked, curious. "Dementors," Harry replied shortly. Krum obviously realised Harry didn't want to go into it, so he turned to Hermione. "Herm-own-ninny? You said you'd explain the Muggle game of Football to me?" Hermione at once launched into a detailed explanation, which both Harry and Ron ignored. 


End file.
